Safe Children. Safe Families.

Child Abuse Prevention Service

Who are we?

Established in 1973, the Child Abuse Prevention Service (CAPS) is the oldest child abuse prevention organisation in Australia. We are a non-government, non-religious charitable organisation that works with vulnerable children and people across Australia to prevent child maltreatment in all its forms, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
We provide evidence-based educational programs that build well-being, emotional resiliency and create the strong family environments needed to ensure that children are safe, supported, and loved. Our staff are experienced educational psychologists that are well-equipped to deliver programs designed to increase protective behaviours in children and forever break the cycle of abuse.

Safe Children, Safe Families

One of the key recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse concerned the need for prevention education to raise children’s awareness of abuse and develop their resiliency against maltreatment.

Our Safe Children, Safe Families (SCSF) program has been designed to prevent all forms of child abuse. It does this by providing 3 to 5 year-old children with the necessary knowledge, skills and capabilities to avoid potentially abusive or unsafe situations and to get help sooner if they do experience maltreatment.

SCSF provides parents with the information and skills they need to better protect the children in their care and build strong social support networks. SCSF also helps childcare organisations to meet the National Quality Standards and Child Safe Organisation Requirements by teaching staff about child safety strategies and how to apply risk-reducing practices at work. SCSF is the only program of its kind in Australia that specifically targets these three groups through its innovative approach.

Since 2016 CAPS has successfully delivered the SCSF program in childcare centres with impressive results. Data collected from a sample of over 475 children that participated in SCSF demonstrated that they became better at identifying feelings, early warning signs and unsafe situations. Their retention of key personal safety messages improved and they were able to develop important personal safety networks for accessing help and support.

As a not for profit organisation, we need your help to continue to deliver SCSF and our other abuse prevention programs to children, parents and carers.

At CAPS we will help you meet the Quality Standards and Child Safe Organisation Requirements whatever your industry or field of work, including but not limited to NGOs, disability providers, business, local government, faith based organisations.